The ice-conditions in the Bay of Bothnia have never been worse since 1987, reports SVT. Some 60 cargo- and bulk vessels are stuck in the ice and ports this week.
Almost all ship traffic to and from harbors in northern Finland are halted, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Finland has two icebreakers working for full and Sweden has one. Additional icebreakers from the Baltic areas can’t sail to the north; there is more than enough of ice to break in south as well.
Last week BarentsObserver reported that the Russian nuclear powered icebreaker Vaigash had to sail from Murmansk to assist the vessels sailing in and out of St. Petersburg. Also, for the first time in many years, the Russian cost of the Black Sea is covered with ice after extreme cold period all the way from the Barents Region in the north to the Black Sea cost in the south.
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